Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,033,668 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 212,264 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of PayPal worth $203,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PYPL. Thompson Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 154,991 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,519,000 after purchasing an additional 4,165 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the 2nd quarter valued at $325,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 15.5% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 164,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,058,000 after purchasing an additional 22,139 shares during the last quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd boosted its position in PayPal by 347.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 193,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,949,000 after buying an additional 149,898 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,513,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $57.29 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.85 and a twelve month high of $93.25. The company has a market cap of $53.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.42.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.21 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.64% and a net margin of 14.96%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. PayPal has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.270-1.310 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.390 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. PayPal’s payout ratio is currently 11.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. President Capital cut their price target on PayPal from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on PayPal from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Baird R W cut shares of PayPal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.81.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product/partnership upside — PayPal expanded its agentic commerce push with “Copilot Checkout,” embedding AI-driven shopping and branded payments inside Microsoft’s Copilot; this could help top-line growth and deepen PayPal’s payments distribution. PayPal’s Agentic Commerce Expansion: Will it Boost Top-Line Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Potential regulatory tailwind — An analyst notes that a proposed 10% credit interest cap could benefit BNPL and fintech players (including PYPL), which may support loan/BNPL product demand and investor sentiment if enacted. XYZ, SOFI, PYPL Rally: Analyst Sees Trump’s 10% Credit Interest Cap Boosting Fintech
• Positive Sentiment: Investor trade idea published — Commentary suggests structured options or hedged trades could be attractive given PYPL’s discount to its 52-week high, implying some traders view the pullback as an opportunity. Could This Be A Win-Win Trade On PayPal Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and flow signals active — Recent write-ups decode elevated options activity around PYPL; this shows heightened trader interest but is mixed on direction (hedging, speculation). Monitor for large skew or concentrated positions. Decoding PayPal Holdings’s Options Activity: What’s the Big Picture?
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings / timing — Analysts expect a modest Q4 earnings uptick when PYPL reports in early February; that release will likely be the next major catalyst. Here’s What to Expect From PayPal Holdings’ Next Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears inconsistent — a report flagged a “large increase” but the published short-interest numbers are zero/NaN, suggesting a data glitch; not a confirmed catalyst. (Internal short-interest entry)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution & price-target cuts — Susquehanna trimmed its Q4 estimates and lowered its PYPL price target to $90 (from $94) while keeping a Positive rating; that reduction and similar analyst conservatism weigh on near-term sentiment. Susquehanna Lowers PT on PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Downgrades / holds pressuring momentum — Multiple outlets report analyst downgrades and holds (Citi issued a Hold; coverage notes a recent analyst downgrade that knocked shares lower), contributing to today’s downward pressure. PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Receives a Hold from Citi Susquehanna Lowers PT on PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Negative narrative pieces — Media commentary argues PYPL missed the 2025 bull run and could underperform in 2026, which can amplify bearish sentiment among retail/institutional investors. How PayPal’s stock missed the entire 2025 bull run and will do the same in 2026

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total value of $615,303.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,366,486.71. This represents a 20.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $249,054.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,022.72. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 36,156 shares of company stock valued at $2,432,524 over the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal’s platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal’s portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree’s developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.